Raya Jaglom (1919-2017)

Tel Aviv University deeply mourns the passing of Honorary Vice Chairperson of the Board of Governors, Raya Jaglom, on August 2, 2017, at the age of 98. Mrs. Jaglom was a devoted TAU benefactor, former President of the Israeli Friends Association and a former member of the TAU Executive Council.

Raya Jaglom was a highly esteemed and well-known public figure who worked tirelessly for almost 70 years for Zionist and humanitarian causes. She was one of Israel’s most famous advocates of women. As President of WIZO for four decades, and later as Honorary Life President, she built a worldwide network for helping children, women, senior citizens and new immigrants and was a key figure in the campaign to free Soviet Jewry. She was a founding member of the Council for Soviet Jewry, a founder of the Tel Aviv Museum, a supporter of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency.

Mrs. Jaglom was awarded Tel Aviv University’s highest form of recognition, an Honorary Doctorate, in 2002. She was recognized for “her dedication to Zionism, from her participation in the Hagana, to her creation of social welfare programs and her devoted support for new immigrants, to her role in strengthening world Jewry’s connection to Israel; her forty years at the helm of WIZO and her initiatives in generating vital support for higher education in Israel.”

Born in 1919 in Bessarabia, Jaglom immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1939 and studied at the Hebrew University. The following year, she married industrialist Josef Jaglom, and became active in WIZO in 1941. Between 1947 and 1948, she served in the Hagana for a period of 18 months.

At TAU, Jaglom supported numerous projects including scholarships and other funds and, in 2015, she inaugurated the Raya and Josef Jaglom Auditorium at the George S. Wise Senate Building, a project dear to her heart. The state-of-the-art Auditorium provides a much-needed home for the annual Board of Governors meetings, Senate meetings and other major conferences and events on campus.

Prof. Jacob Frenkel, Chairman of the TAU Board of Governors, said: "Raya Jaglom was an outstanding and committed leader. Her life-long activities and unstinting dedication to good causes through the leadership of WIZO and other philanthropic organizations inspired and served as a role model for a generation of civic leaders. TAU benefitted immensely from Raya's generosity and enthusiastic support. Her impact on the University will endure and be felt for many years. We will deeply miss her.”

TAU President Joseph Klafter said, “Raya was a woman of valor and of great accomplishments. She served and supported the University loyally in many capacities through the years. She was a great friend of Tel Aviv University.”

Mrs. Jaglom is survived by her son, Elchanan (Elan); daughter, Nurit; and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.